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Heatpump Model and Installer Research
August 2022, we are looking into buying and installing one or more heatpumps for our oil-heated forced-hot-water home to reduce our winter oil use and to give us some cooling during the summer heat/humidity.
Heat pump installers
| Commenter | Company | Contact info | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| AS MS WR | NETR Heating and Cooling Systems (Woburn) | https://www.netrinc.com/ 781-933-6387 | Good tech service & knowledgeable technicians |
| MM | Muirfield Electric (Ayer) | https://muirfieldmechanical.com/ 978-263-7130 | did what they said they'd do, on schedule, middle-of-road price, no extra fuss |
| RK | 128 Heating and Plumbing (Wakefield) | https://www.128plumbing.com/ 781-670-3261 | (annoying website, can't get rid of stuff covering info) |
| AW | Central Cooling and Heating (Woburn) | https://centralcooling.com/ 800-236-8725 | they did rebate paperwork, good company. |
| RR CL JL | Total Comfort (Burlington) | https://www.totalcomfortmech.com/lexington 781-999-1275, 781-697-9016 | Good consultation, communication. helped w/MassSave |
| JL MA | NetZero Heating and Air Conditioning (Billerica) | https://netzerohvac.net/ 888-306-3893 | |
| WT | New England Ductless (Boston) | https://www.newenglandductless.com/ 781-995-2665 |
Heat pump devices
| Mitsubishi | high demand, long lead times (8+ months?) |
| Bosch | |
| Daikin | |
| LG | One Lex List member reported issues with non-LG thermostat; system would stay on, but this might be related to the usage learning curve; pressure relief valve issue; be sure to verify experience of installers and techs |
Concerns to address
- Will your electrical feed need to be upgraded? (If you have 200 Amp service, will that be enough to support one or more heat pumps?)
- Temperature range. Make sure your units can handle the temps in our area (eg, -20 to 110F)
- Will the unit work with your existing thermostat or must it be replaced?
- Will (and if so how will) heat pump work with existing home heating system?
- Verify experience of Installers and Tech support
Ideas
- Get wall units for rooms with doors you can close (to isolate heat/cool to the room)
- Heat pump for your hot water. will chill your basement if it's in the basement
Analysis
Assumptions (for us) based on one company's information
| Multiple heat pumps to give whole-house solution | 23000 | heatpump solution only |
| Annual heatpump maintenance | 635/yr | heatpump solution only |
| Added electricity cost | est 100/mo | heatpump solution only |
| Oil usage | 700 gallons/yr at $4/gal(oil heat) 100 gallons (hot water only) | |
| Oil boiler maintenance | 200/yr | Needed even if we use heat pumps as oil is heating hot water |
Analysis & Comparison, heat pump vs oil boiler
We got a quote from a company for the cost of a whole-house solution. There are two rebates available to us, approx $5k since we're going whole-house, and $10k if we also sign an agreement that we will only use oil heat in an emergency.
Assumptions
We have an oil-fueled boiler forced hot water heating system. We have a single window air conditioner that the heat pumps would replace. Here are the cost factors.
| Heatpump | Heatpump w/agreement | Oil Boiler only (current situation) | ||
| Equipment | 23000 | 18000 | ||
| Maintenance/yr | 835 | 200 | ||
| Electricity increment estimate/yr | 1200 | 1200 | 0 | |
| Est cost oil, 700gal/yr, $4/gal | 100 gal@$4/gal=400 | 100 gal@$4/gal | 700 gal@$4/gal=2800 | need oil to heat hot water |
Also assuming for the purpose of this analysis:
- Energy costs stay the same over the analysis period (oil and electricity)
- Maintenance costs stay the same over the analysis period
- We are not considering electricity savings by using heat pumps over the one window air conditioner we're using